This invention generally relates to air quality management and, more particularly, to methods and systems for monitoring and predicting emissions outputs from emissions sources.
The United States Congress requires reductions in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. See Clean Air Act (Title IV, Acid Rain Program) xc2xa7401, 42 U.S.C.A. xc2xa77651 (West 1995 and Supp. 2000). Congress requires that any operator of an emissions source, subject to the laws, must sample the emissions source and record sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. This record of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions must then be submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Sampling and reporting these emissions, however, can be a slow, cumbersome, and expensive task. Emissions monitoring equipment (xe2x80x9cCEMSxe2x80x9d for continuous emissions monitoring system), required by Congress, can cost up to about $200,000 per unit. One CEMS is often required for each source, so an industrial process with multiple sources can require a million dollars or more in emissions monitoring equipment. This emissions monitoring equipment also has high installation costs and high maintenance costs. There are also high lead times and high labor costs in gathering this emissions data and in presenting the data in the format required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Once this emissions data is gathered and reported, added expenses are incurred to archive thousands of pages of emissions documents and regulatory submissions.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for methods and systems of inexpensively monitoring source emissions, for methods and systems of inexpensively predicting source emissions, for methods and systems of quickly gathering, formatting, and reporting emissions data to regulatory agencies, and for methods and systems that facilitate sharing emissions data for buying and selling emissions allowances.
One embodiment includes a method for determining emissions outputs from an industrial process, a commercial process, or a residence. The method communicates with a communications network and acquires at least one of energy usage information associated with sources of emissions and emissions information associated with sources of emissions. xe2x80x9cSources of emissionsxe2x80x9d includes any machine, apparatus, plant, or process that emits pollutants. Boilers, furnaces, generators, and engines, for example, consume energy and produce emissions. The energy usage information and the emissions information is acquired as each occurs in real time or as each occurs in near-real-time. The method reports emissions outputs based upon the acquired real time information.
Another embodiment includes a method for determining emissions outputs from an industrial process. This embodiment communicates with a communications network and acquires at least one of energy usage information associated with sources of emissions and emissions information associated with sources of emissions. This embodiment stores the acquired information as each occurs in real time. Emissions outputs are reported for the industrial process, the emissions outputs based upon the acquired real time information.
A further embodiment is a method for displaying energy and emissions information. This embodiment stores present values of at least one of i) energy usage information and ii) emissions information as each occurs in real time. The energy usage information is associated with sources of emissions, and the emissions information is associated with sources of emissions. An image is displayed, with the image comprised of the stored present values.
Still another method of displaying energy and emissions information is disclosed. This method stores present values of at least one of i) energy usage information and ii) emissions information as each occurs in real time. The energy usage information is associated with sources of emissions, and the emissions information is associated with sources of emissions. The method stores emissions output information, with the emissions output information based upon at least one of the energy usage information and the emissions information. A computer image is displayed, the computer image comprised of at least one of i) the energy usage information, ii) the emissions information, and the iii) emissions output information.
An industrial process is also disclosed. The industrial process includes an emissions source producing pollutant emissions, at least one monitor monitoring the emissions source, and a communications network. The at least one monitor has at least one of i) an energy usage monitor for monitoring energy usage of the emissions source in real time and ii) an emissions monitor for monitoring emissions produced by the emissions source in real time. The energy usage monitor generates energy usage information and the emissions monitor generates emissions information. The communications network acquires at least one of the energy usage information and the emissions information, with the communications network communicating in real time the energy usage information and the emissions information.
A system configured for predicting emissions from an emissions source is also disclosed. The system includes an Emissions Monitoring Module, a memory storage device, and a processor. The Emissions Monitoring Module acquires at least one of energy usage information and emissions information. The energy usage information is associated with energy used by the emissions source, and the emissions information is associated with emissions outputs produced by the emissions source. The memory storage device stores the acquired information. The processor generates emissions outputs for the emissions source based upon the acquired information.